After two more super bowl contenders lost to inferior teams Pats have a chance. I cant remember the last time N.E. lost to a bad team, can they beat the best teams sure, will they we will see. One thing Belichick does better then any other coach is make sure his team is ready to play against any opponent. Only once this year were they not in the game, and besides miami all the other teams were undeafeated at the time and playing there best football of the season. They may not win the whole thing but , as they have been all decade, be the best TEAM in the NFL!!

This is perhaps one of the most wide-open years in recent memory. If you missed the entire season and just glanced at the standings this year, you'd think the NFC has two elite teams duking it out and the AFC has one elite team with another good team. Watching the entire season up-close though, it's wide open. Every playoff team has decent flaws that can be exposed.

Our running game is going to be the x-factor. If we pound the rock against Indy and San Diego, we can control the clock, keep our defense on the sideline and keep Phillip Rivers and Peyton Manning on the sideline. Oh, and we do have Tom Brady. Forgot about him.

We don't need to dominate Houston at all. We're in the playoffs. We need to get playing time for the guys that need it and rest for the guys that need that. Like it or not Brady is bbanged up and could use a break and every time Welker catches one in the middle he takes the chance of being beheaded by a LB. We need to take a healthy team into the playoffs a lot more than we need to win in Houston.

Also can some idiot mod tell me why the word b.a.n.g.e.d is not allowed. This is a football site morons.

The Pats haven't beaten a truly great team since 2007 - at home or on the road. They've failed to do so in 2009. Yes, they've looked super beating the Jags, and hopefully, a heathly Sammy Morris and Fred Taylor, as well as Dean Pees moving from the sidelines to the booth, give me limited optimism. It's too bad the Pats will likely face of against the Bolts before potentially playing in Indy. I want the Pats to win, but I want them to get first crack at the Colts before SD.

i am a homer, but we are not the best team by any measure right now. could we win it all? sure, anything can happen. if rivers gets hurt in first quarter while we are playg them, there u go... sometimes the best do not win (remember the pats in 2007?). chargers and the cowboys are the BEST right now. again, things like coaching are intangibles that can tilt things at the most important moments. i will take belichick everyday and TWICE on sunday over wade phillips and norv turner. put bel on those things and they are locks for a ring with their talent. i think pats are in the best position to duplicate the 2007 giants and 2006 colts. neither were the best team entering the playoffs or even during the playoffs but somehow got a RING! let's just get a ring!

Although the Pats are finally putting it all together, it came too late in the season for me to say that. I need to see them play very well in consecutive games to say they are the best. I hope they do the same thing in Houston.

Anything is possible in the playoffs. If we keep playing well from here on out, we have as good a shot as anyone. This will be a tough year to get the Lombardi, no matter which team you talk about. A lot of stiff competition this year.

actually the pats do need to dominate the texans.even if its in the first half when the starters are for sure playing.yes they are in the playoffs,but if they cant handle the texans on the road,how far do you think they would go after there home game in the playoffs?even though nobody knows who is playing or not for the pats.the texans are favored by 8 points regardless who is playing.which means the pats need to prove they can kick butt on the road in order to get to the big dance.

Pats need to get out of Houston healthy. Yeah it would be nice to win but they will be playing next week either way and on the road the following week if they win. Brady beat up and shouldn't play much if at all. Welker has also taken a pounding lately. I wouldn't play Wilfork or Warren and go with young guys on DL.

Maybe I'm missing something but I don't see how Pats should be considered a SB team. They have not been a good road team (1-5 - forget London). They've played better recently against mediocre teams (Car,Jax, Buf) but are 3-5 against playoff caliber teams (0-4 road record at AFC contenders). The wildcard game will be physical if its BALT, NYJ, or PITT. If Pats win, they'll have to travel and play rested SD or Indy. The SD offense is scary and Indy put up 35 on them. Pats secondary's limited playoff experience scares me (Bodden, Wilhite, Chung, Butler, McGowan).

I think they'll be 3 seed win or lose and face BALT. Cin will likely face NYJ in WC so they may tank it to "not show them anything".

I hope the Pat's smash them this week, and pour it on... to leave no doubt that the Colt's manipulated the league rules once again... and the damned Jets and their cheating NY based NFL minions had better correct the problem...

krismk the colts and jets will not be winning anything this year , they cant be better in playoffs. However if the Pats keep playing D like the last few weeks and stay a little unpredictable on O they have a chance.

Its all about peaking at the right time. The Pats are making steady progress through December - specifically they are running the ball and protecting the QB. The defense has been let out of the restraints imposed on it by the system and is looking much better in the pass rush and pass defense departments, now if they continue to set the corner and hold it against the running game they have a chance to go all the way. I would love to see that. kildog

I have to echo the many comments made so far.. the Pats, to be considered a legitimate contender, need to win convincingly against the Texans. The momentum from this three game winning streak needs to be maintained.

OR, be winning convincingly when BB decides to rest most starters then Houston makes an amazing comeback against the back-ups. Most may consider the early part of such a game a better indication of the Pats than the mop up at the end of a meaningless game.

If it's about peaking at the right time, I'm not sure that NE fans should feel confident. Pats are 3-2 in last 5 beating non-contending teams and losing to contenders. Same record as Cin and BAL. NYJ and Indy are 4-1, SD is 5-0. Pats D has looked better against some bad teams. Do you honestly think there is no difference between Indy/SD offense and Buff/Jax/Car offense? You gotta consider some teams are playing for their playoff lives while others have nothing to play for. If SD pulls an Indy and tanks last game, does this mean they have no chance? If BB pulls Brady and Pats lose, does this mean they are done?

I agree NE is playing better but you gotta consider the level of competition and road record. The 2001-2007 Pats proved they could beat good teams on the road. To date, the 2009 Pats have not.